24 April 2016

Best Podcasts 2016

It's a great year in politics so let's start there. Slate's Political Gabfest is still going strong. Co-host John Dickerson has moved up in the world of US politics, he now moderates presidential debates and interviews the candidates on CBS's Face the Nation (don't miss his FTN Diary). However, the Gabfest faces formidable election coverage competition from the Five Thirty Eight elections podcast, which has a great, geeky ambiance and a fresh, numbers-based approach to punditry. Vox's The Weeds, The Econonist's various podcasts, and shows like The Glenn Show on Bloggingheads TV do good analysis of news and society. BBC's Newshour is still the go-to podcast for big complex stories like the Panama Papers.

Long-form interviews can be extraordinarily good when done right. WTF with Marc Maron, CNN's The Axe Files with David Axelrod, and The Ezra Klein Show frequently hit the mark.